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Bobby Rahal confident in IndyCar's future: exclusive interview

Former champion and current team owner Bobby Rahal says that reconnecting with the fan base is a key to IndyCar's future success. Photo by LAT PHOTOGRAPHIC

The Izod IndyCar Series was supposed to begin 2012 on a high note with the introduction, after nine years, of a new car and the return of Chevrolet as an engine supplier.

Only the death of Dan Wheldon in the 2011 season finale put a brake on the joy and anticipation of finally watching some new technology on the track after a nine-year wait. Once past the 2012 season opener in St. Petersburg, Fla., where the Wheldon family made its home, the series should have started in high gear.

Only there was a manufacturers' battle, known as “turbogate,” over Honda's request for an unscheduled mid-season engine modification. And some owners complained about the cost of the new Dallara chassis' spare parts.

By November 2012, Jeff Belskus, a CPA who rose from the financial side to become the CEO of Hulman & Co. -- the parent company of Indianapolis Motor Speedway -- assumed the “interim” IndyCar CEO title. Mark Miles, who ran the 1987 Pan-Am Games and the NFL's 2012 Super Bowl in Indianapolis, became boss of Hulman & Co.

The biggest anchor weighing down IndyCar is a television contract originally on the marginal Versus cable network, which means a relatively small audience. Although the network was purchased by NBC, which renamed it NBCSports, the jury is still out on the numbers of viewers ready to follow the series week in, week out.

Autoweek caught up with Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing team owner, Bobby Rahal, to get his opinions on the upcoming season.

Rahal, even more than top owners like Chip Ganassi and Roger Penske, is uniquely qualified to talk about the overriding issues; he served as the interim head of the defunct CART series, and also as Jaguar's Formula One team principal.

“I think [IndyCar's on-track] product is second to none,” he said. “I think IndyCar racing has the best quality as exemplified by this last year and Indy last year.

“I'm [optimistic] on IndyCar. The steps that were made recently with Jeff and Mark Miles coming in. I've had time to spend with Mark and he's a very impressive guy who has the expertise. At that level you don't have to have racing knowledge; if you have good people by your side, it's about being a leader and having sound business principles and imagination putting on events.”

Since Miles is in charge of the parent company, it frees Belskus to handle IndyCar's day-to-day issues.

“Guys like Jeff and Mark have the organizational sophistication to create an organization equal to the on-track product,” Rahal said. “I feel that we have the right people at the helm. All up from here.”

Rahal thinks the owners “revolt” of 2012 has quieted down now with the ouster of Bernard. But are the IndyCar team owners too powerful for the series own good?

“Despite everything you read about [Formula One] they're all pretty happy because they're all getting rich,” Rahal said with a bit of a small laugh. “They've all been made multi-millionaires as a result of Bernie [Ecclestone's] business acumen. As a result you don't want to kill the golden goose. I was in the principals' meeting [during my time in F1] which [addressed] sporting issues, but when you're making a lot of money usually the issues aren't very big.

“If we were all making money here the owners wouldn't be involved politically. They'd be much more involved going to the bank all the time as they do in Formula One,” he said with a bigger laugh.

“The owners here are a lot of successful businessmen who have opinions, who have worked hard to get where they are. When they see things not pursued on a similar type basis they're going to voice their opinions. If there was a lot of money involved and all the teams were fine, the owners would be a lot less vocal. Also [the owner's discontent] was based on the lack of confidence they've had here in Indy-car racing over the years.”

Rahal believes that the business managers put in charge of IndyCar will be able to make the series financially viable while keeping the “inmates” under control.

“With the direction the Hulman family has taken which is so critical to the future -- not just to the 500 but to the sport of IndyCar as a whole -- gives you a whole lot more confidence as to the direction it will take. I think you'll find the owners to be a lot less vocal over the short period of time due to that confidence. At times the owners can be their own worst enemies. They see leadership at the helm of the series, and capability in the series, you'll find people to be a lot less vocal than they have been.”

Turning the clock back to the mid-1990s before the Indy Racing Leauge/CART war, Indy-style racing was arguably the premier series in the United States based on average individual track attendance and big corporate sponsors.

The open-wheel war, along with NASCAR's rapid growth, eroded IndyCar's fan base. How does the series get it back?

“It's much recognized at IndyCar today that reconnecting and building the fan base is crucial,” Rahal said. “And investing money to do that. Obviously the television ratings need to improve which really has been the Achilles heel of the series for the last ten years. Racetrack attendance for the last ten years has been good.

“Getting people to watch the broadcast requires a very aggressive communication platform and programs. As late as yesterday I had a conversation with a board member. There's complete agreement that those are the areas that need to be focused upon to grow the sport. It's not like you have to tell them what's wrong. I think they know what's wrong and they are committed to fixing it.”

As a parting shot, Rahal echoed the sentiment of many within the sport.

“If we didn't have a good product we'd been in trouble, but we have a great product.”